A/N: I know, I know!! It's really, really short o but please deal with me here!! If the chapters are shorter then I can update faster XD so everyone will be happy lol
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Chapter 7
Seto fingered the ring in his pocket, wondering when he was going to finally be able to muster up the courage to ask Joey to marry him.
They had been together for four months now, and he still hadn't asked Joey to live with him, even though the blond spent more time at his house than at his own.
Seto knew that he should ask Joey to move in with him before asking the blond to marry him, but he was petrified that his puppy would refuse.
He has no reason to agree- I'm a cold, selfish bastard who can't love, Seto thought bitterly.
He leaned forward so that his forehead was touching his desk. What was he going to do? If Joey refused then his heart would be torn into a million pieces, but if Joey said yes, then...
But he probably won't say yes! Seto slammed his hand onto the desk, not noticing the man who had walked into the room.
"Mr. Kaiba? Are you alright?" the man asked.
"Masaki." Seto greeted the other man with a tiny, barely noticeable smile. "I'm fine."
Masaki had been one of his advisors ever since he had first taken over Kaiba Corp, and had been a good friend of his.
Well, not a friend exactly, but an aquaintance, Seto corrected himself silently. He'll know what to do about Joey.
"I have a problem." Seto said abruptly. "And I need your advice."
Masaki's eyes widened slightly in pure shock. The great Seto Kaiba was asking him for advice?
Did he bang his head on a rock or something? There's no way that Seto Kaiba just asked me for advice!
"Uh... I'm not sure I'll be a great help Mr. Kaiba, but I can try..." he said uncertainly, wondering if this was some sort of test that he had to pass in order to retain his job.
"Good. I've been with my partner for four months now, and-" Seto began.
"You have a partner?" Masaki blurted out before he could stop himself.
He winced as soon as the words left his mouth and quickly apologised.
"It's fine." Seto said. "But I just want your advice on whether I should ask them to marry me or not."
Masaki nibbled at his lip nervously. "Well, if you love them then you should marry them. But isn't it a bit early in the relationship to be thinking of marriage?" Masaki asked, frowning, his green eyes thoughtful.
"Hn." Seto looked away.
"So who is this lucky woman anyway?" Masaki asked, laughing.
Seto's icy blue eyes fixed themselves on him and he handed the older man a photo. "My partner. Joey."
"Oh." was all that Masaki managed to get out.
Mr. Kaiba's partner is a manhe thought incredulously. I would never have guessed... and a handsome man, at that.
Masaki clenched his fists, jealousy rising within him. Why was it that Kaiba always got everything? He had the best job, the best house, the best lover.
I was supposed to take over Kaiba Corp, not Seto, not Noah. Me. But instead I'm stuck as some stupid advisor! I want Joey- I deserve him more than Seto does!
The jealousy disappeared as quickly as it had came. Masaki took a deep breath, and ran his hand through his short, spiky brown hair in an attempt to settle his nerves.
"Do you have a problem with my partner?" Seto asked, his eyes fixing themselves on Masaki's unreadable face.
Masaki shook his head, and forced himself to smile at his boss. "No. I was just surprised, that's all."
"Hn." Seto took the picture back.
"Well... I don't think you should rush into anything too soon, Mr. Kaiba. There's the company to be thinking of- if you make the relationship between you and -uh- Joey more serious than it already is, then you won't have that much time for work anymore, and it's important to everyone that Kaiba Corp does well in the market." Masaki advised. "And that's my advice to you. Maybe you should talk it out with your partner? Ask him what he wants from your relationship."
Seto frowned thoughtfully. "I might just do that." he paused. "That'll be all Masaki."
Typical. All I get is a 'that'll be all'. No 'thank you Masaki' or 'I value your advice'. No, it's just 'that'll be all'. No appreciation or anything, Masaki thought bitterly as he left the room.
"Oh and sir?" Masaki turned around to face Seto.
"Hn?" Seto looked up from some paperwork he had just started on.
"The results for this month have come in."
"And? I'll take a look at them soon." Seto said impatiently.
"Well, sales are down." Masaki said. "By quite a significant percent."
"What?!" Seto frowned deeply. "How can that be? They were the highest they'd ever been a few months ago."
"Yes sir. But they started dropping since, well-" Masaki broke off, looking uncomfortable.
"Since?" Seto demanded.
Pay back time, Kaiba. "Since you started seeing your new partner, sir."
Seto ran his hands through his hair. "Hn. Go now."
Smirking to himself, Masaki left the room.
If I'm with Joey, then I'm not paying as much attention as I should to work. But if I work then I won't pay as much attention to Joey, and I want to be with him. I don't want to lose him... Seto's frown grew deeper. Maybe Masaki's right- maybe I'm rushing into things with him. I should slow down and sort out my priorities first.
Seto sighed and looked over his schedule. He had to make several changes to it- he didn't have to spend all of his spare time with Joey- he could use it to invent new ideas, or work on old ones. And he didn't have to spend every single lunch break with his partner- he never used to have lunch before Joey came into his life, he didn't need to have lunch now.
Seto looked over his new schedule and smirked, satisfied.
There- perfect. A balance between work and time spent with Joey. Well, almost. But Joey won't mind.
!#$&
Joey glanced across at Seto, wondering why his lover was so silent. Seto had never been the sort to hold great conversations with, but he normally talked to Joey over dinner.
"Are you alright?" the blond asked, scanning his lover's features, looking for injuries of any sort.
"Fine." Seto growled, stabbing a meatball viciously.
"So where are we going for lunch tomorrow?" Joey asked, trying to change to a lighter subject.
Why is Seto so touchy all of a sudden? He was fine this morning. Now it looks like his business has gone into ruin or something.
"I'm working lunch tomorrow." Seto replied, not meeting Joey's eyes.
"What?" Joey frowned, then shrugged. "Sure. We can make up for it some other time. Are we still going to the fair on Friday evening?"
Seto shook his head.
"But Seto! You promised me!" Joey protested. He grabbed Seto's chin and forced the brunette to look at him. "Why are you backing out now?"
"I'm busy, alright?" Seto snapped, shoving Joey away from him. "I've got work to do. Go amuse yourself, mutt." he stood up and stormed off.
Joey stared after him, hurt and confusion written in his honey brown eyes.
What's wrong with him? It's almost as if he hates me now, just like he used to! Panic gribbed his heart and Joey clutched the table for support. Has he met someone else? Or is he sick of me? Is he going to throw me out like some old toy?
Forgetting all about dinner, Joey ran to the bedroom he and Seto shared. He grabbed the phone and started dialling Honda's number, before he remembered that his friend would probably tell him to get away from Seto as fast as he could. He thought about calling Yugi, but then decided against it.
This was his own problem, and he would deal with it by himself. Besides, Seto was probably just in a bad mood- it didn't mean that the whole world was ending or anything.
He probably had a rough day at work. And since when did I get so worked up about something Seto said anyway?
Joey sighed and slowly started to undress. He grabbed a towel and headed towards the bathroom.
After a long hot shower, Joey changed into his pyjamas and walked down the corridor to Seto's office. He knocked on the door, but there was no reply. So Joey entered the room, and smiled at the sight. Seto was sleeping at his desk, snoring quietly.
Joey walked over to his lover and nudged him gently on the shoulder. Almost immediately, the brunette's eyes opened and he sat up.
He glanced at Joey who smiled down at him. "I'm off to bed. And I think you should get some sleep too."
Seto nodded and watched as Joey started to leave the room. "Wait!" he called out quickly, just as Joey opened the door.
The blond turned around looked at him quizzically. "What's the matter, koi?"
"I didn't mean what I said earlier."
Joey smiled and walked back over to him. "I know. Just try to relax, okay?" he planted a chaste kiss on Seto's lips.
Seto smirked and deepend the kiss, but to his surprise, Joey pulled away.
"Not tonight." the blond grinned at his shocked expression. "I'm tired, and you are too."
Seto grumbled something under his breath, making Joey laugh.
"Night Seto."
"Good night koi." Seto said softly, wondering how on earth he was going to be able to distance himself further away from his gorgeous blond lover.
I have to do it. I have to, otherwise my business will be ruined. And work is important to me- but does Joey or work matter to me the most?
!#$&()
A/N: Until the next chapter then!! XD And yes, there'll be more angst. But this story does have a happy ending J
Okay… the rest of the thank you's are down here because my computer isn't letting me right anything else at the top O.o;;
Hikari Raine: thank you!!
Essenity: lol ;;
Impawsible: I'm sorry… T-T I promise I won't hurt Joey too much ;; thank you!!
DarkPhoenix0184: lol!! There's HEAPS of yaoi in Yu-Gi-Oh!! I'm glad so many people have discovered it too lol
angelical nightmare: I'm glad to say that this fic is NOT gonna end angsty xD lol I'm a sucker for happy romance stories -.-''
Flame Swordswoman: Lol yup there's gonna be angst! Lol I'm glad you love angst ;;
Optimistic girl94: Lol I'm writing!! Thankies!
Kibethan: Thank you!! Lol I dunt want to be writing angst around the hols lol… it ruins the xmas spirit… but then the tsunami happened T-T
Saelbu: lol I'm glad I don't have to write out your whole name lol Thank yoU!!
Anaraz: Lol thank you!! I'm glad too :D